1. Field of Invention
This patent application is for a guitar case storage rack or stand. It is novel because it is for cases and not directly for instruments and because it has a number of practical, new features. The invention provides a previously unheard of combination of security and access. The gold standard for guitar storage is “case-kept.” In the past, “case-kept” also has meant inaccessible. However, the invention in this application provides for “case-kept” security while, at the same time, providing for really more accessibility than with instruments that hang on walls or rest on stands. First, the lids of the cases are held closed or open at the users will. Second, the case rack rolls, spins, and stays immobile at the will of the user. Third, the case rack transforms into a dolly to be used for such things as heavy amplifiers, monitors, mixing boards, and the like. Finally, the case rack adjusts to accommodate a wide range of cases.
2. Prior Art
Existing storage racks for guitars and similar instruments (for example, banjos, and bass guitars) hold instruments in a number of ways. For example, the instruments hang from their necks just below their headstocks or they rest on bottom edge of their lower bouts and lean their backs against the device at the upper bout, or they lean their necks against the device. In contrast to storing guitars, cases such as guitar cases and other similar instrument cases are generally stored in closets by rotating the case so that it rests against a closet wall. There are existing case racks that rely on rotating the cases. Alternatively, cases are tipped back to rest on a wall. This invention is related to tipping a case back to lean against one wall and rotating it clockwise at the same time to lean against another perpendicular wall as if in an inside corner. What will become clear is that this simple solution only replicates the attitude of a case held by the invention; it does not address all the problems that are solved by this invention. For example, the lid binds when trying to open it while the case is leaning back against one wall and rotated against a perpendicular wall. There are other problems like the relative insecurity of simply using the walls for support and the immobility of the arrangement.
The essential features of this invention are unprecedented in the market. This is a patent application for a case rack that simultaneously holds a case tipped backward and rotated to the right so that one case or a plurality of cases are held such that the lids of the cases are easily left closed or left open. When open, the guitars do not fall out. The ability to be held open or closed allows for very rapid access to a plurality, defined as one or more, of instruments while providing case-kept protection of the instrument or instruments when they are not in use. By arranging a plurality of cases around a central axis so that each tipped backwards and each is rotated to the right, the cases are held in a very compact group. This is in contrast to spreading cases out on a floor or a table or leaning them against a wall.
The case rack can be mobile which increases the access to instruments in addition to allowing the rack with cases to move from one place to another. It can spin around its central axis and roll in any direction. Spinning is particularly useful, because an instrumentalist can remain in one place, sitting or standing, and have rapid access to any of the cases on the rack by spinning the rack. In order to reduce the tendency for the case rack to roll inadvertently, the case rack can be made immobile.
In addition, the case rack folds and rolls in its folded configuration. As a result, it can be said that the case rack transforms into a dolly. In order to reduce the tendency for the dolly to roll inadvertently, it can be made immobile. The folding of the rack into the dolly configuration is accomplished by removing the cap from the rack and then folding the hinged struts into the shape of a cross. Finally, the cap is reattached below the folded supports. The fact that the case rack folds also means that the rack itself stores very compactly.